


picnic day

by dancing_mannequins



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 06:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6600403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancing_mannequins/pseuds/dancing_mannequins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>edd wants to spend more time with tom, so he brings him on a picnic. tom refuses to take his hoodie off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

it was such a great idea to bring tom to the park, edd thought to himself. we'll make hot dogs and drink soda and beer until we collapse! edd smiled. this was going to be a great day!!

but... tom didn't seem to think so. matt was, of course, out visiting family, and it was only edd and tom for about a week. this was the third day that matt had been gone and it had been... quiet in the house. almost _uncomfortably_ quiet. so edd decided that the weather was perfect for a picnic, and loaded quieter-than-usual tom and a cooler of hot dogs and beer into the car.

when they got to the park, edd seemed to be dragging tom everywhere. he seemed more tired than usual, and he was still wearing his hoodie in 80 degree heat. edd had already ditched his jacket in the car, wearing a tank-top and shorts. tom was still wearing pants... maybe edd dragged him out of the house too quickly? well, they had plenty of cold drinks in the cooler, and edd had just found the perfect spot! it was a normal picnic table with only one spider on it, and there were _two_ trees providing shade! again, perfect.

edd grinned, looking back to see tom's reaction. his smile faltered when he noticed that tom still looked indifferent, but that was tom, he supposed. edd set the cooler down on one of the picnic table benches, wiping his brow.

"alright, tom, i'll be right back, i forgot the chips in the car!"

"yeah, whatever." tom waved it off, searching for a drink in the cooler.

tom could understand that edd was probably trying to cheer him up, but tom was stubborn. maybe even a little scared. like hell was he gonna take his jacket off, even if it meant boiling to death. tom took a swig of the beer he grabbed, carefully sitting down on the bench opposite the cooler. edd soon came rushing back, two different bags of chips in his arms.

"dude, how are we both gonna eat _all_ of those chips plus like, three hot dogs each?" tom gave edd a look. it was really too many chips.

"psh, we'll save the rest for matt." edd chuckled, pulling out a can of cola from the cooler. edd was silent for a minute, drinking in the sound of birds, the nice breeze ruffling tom's hair, the way the light looked on tom's face, the way tom was hunched over his bottle of mystery beer... edd waved his cloud of thoughts away. ok, he could admit to himself that he maybe had a tiny, ity-bity crush on tom. _maybe._ oh who was he kidding he was head-over-heels for his best friend.

it was true, edd _was_ trying to cheer tom up. and it looked like it was working for a little while, too! until after edd finished making the hot dogs, serving them up on napkins that he also had to run back to the car to get (along with the buns.) the temperature had somehow increased, and it was now around _85_ degrees. edd could tell tom was sweating under his jacket, and wanted to say something like _take your jacket off, idiot, it's summer_ but realized with a small amount of dread that tom probably had a reason he was still wearing it.

and then tom passed out. edd was putting out the fire, and when he turned around, tom's head hit the table. edd swore and wiped his hands on his shorts, rushing over to check tom's temperature. he was _definitely_ overheated. edd took a deep breath and did what he had to do. he picked up the short guy and sat him on the grass, then pulled his hoodie off. edd frowned and grabbed the nearest waterbottle, opening it and splashing it on tom's face. tom sputtered and sat up, breathing heavily.

"what the fuck, edd?!"

"i needed to cool you down quick, that was the first thing that came to mind!"  
tom soon realized he wasn't wearing his jacket and crossed his arms. edd knew he was hiding something, but didn't to pry. he felt guilty for taking tom's jacket off without asking, but he panicked! he didn't know what to do.

"i... why don't we just go home, tom." edd said quietly, standing up and tossing tom his jacket back. he packed everything back up and lugged it back to the car, tom trailing behind. they were about halfway home before either of them said anything. "i'm sorry, tom. i panicked. i didn't know what to do."

"no, it's..." tom sighed. edd noticed he had put his jacket back on, and his arms were still crossed. "it's... fine. you were only trying to help."

"i- i just- for a split second i thought you had died!" edd laughed, blinking back a couple tears. crying _really_ wasn't the best when you're driving. "again, i'm sorry tom. i overstepped my boundaries."

"you don't have to apologize," tom muttered, sinking down in his seat. "you were worried, i get it. please drop it." edd glanced over at tom again. there was a pit in his stomach that made him feel nauseated. _none_ of this was right.

when they got home, tom immediately went to his room. edd frowned, but let him be. for now he had an entire cooler of food to bring in.


	2. Chapter 2

tom hadn't come out of his room for about twelve hours and edd was starting to get worried. he was standing in front of tom's door right now, worried and wringing his hands. but he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock, even though it was shaking.

"tom, are you alright in there?" he said, trying desperately to hide the shaking in his voice. edd let out the breath he was holding when he heard a groan from the other side of the door.

"edd do you even know what time it is-" tom said, opening the door and tiredly slumping on the door frame. edd noticed he had slept in his hoodie. edd tried not to notice how cute tom looked with a bed head.

"it's two in the afternoon, tom." edd guessed some part of his face betrayed his worry because tom seemed to shrink into his jacket.

"yeah, yeah i'm- i was just." tom sighed. "i was just tired." _maybe even more than i realize,_ tom thought bitterly. they were both quiet for a couple seconds before edd spoke up.

"why- why don't i make you some coffee? do you think that would help?" edd searched tom's face for conformation. tom just nodded. edd shot tom one last concerned glance, trudging back down the hall to the kitchen. edd tried not to focus on how bad tom looked. he tried to distract himself and keep his composure by listening to tom's shoulder brushing against the wall, his socks dragging slightly on the carpet, and reminding himself to breathe in and breathe out. everything will be ok.

tom sat at the kitchen table as edd made the coffee. tom tried to get comfortable, laying his head on his crossed arms. tom knew what this was about. he knew edd was going to find out eventually, so he decided to tell him straight up instead of waiting forever for edd to say anything. edd turned around with two steaming mugs of coffee, setting one in front of tom and taking a seat opposite from him. after a few more seconds of silence and coffee-blowing, tom finally gathered up the courage to speak.

"ok, before you say a fucking word, yeah." tom started, glaring into his coffee mug. "i'm gay, and yes, your butt looks fine in those jeans." tom looked up and was mildly surprised to find complete confusion covering edd's face.

"i- what?"

"you were going to ask if i was gay, right? or at least interested in boys?" tom gripped his mug tight, not caring that it was so hot it was almost burning his hands. "i know you care about me, edd. i mean, of course you do. it's who you are. yesterday you showed me how much you fucking care without even saying a word!" tom tried to get a hold on his emotions. he shouldn't be saying this. edd was stressed enough without him. tom wished he had never left his room.

disregarding the comment about his ass for the moment, edd could tell tom needed some space. or a hug. he couldn't always tell with tom. but he knew that tom was not ok.

"tom, that's... that's not what i wanted to talk about." edd looked at tom but he wouldn't meet his gaze. tom visibly tensed up. edd wondered what was going on inside his head. "i wanted to talk about about yesterday?"

"i _told_ you it was ok, you were only trying to help-"

"no, i mean, you were wearing a hoodie in 80 degree heat! what the heck, man?"

"ok, fine, _dipshit_ ," tom spat out. "i've been... cutting myself." tom's voice grew quieter with his confession. if he could shrink down even more into his hoodie, that's just what he did. he looked so vulnerable under edd's eyes.

"i'm not gonna yell at you, if that's what you think i'm gonna do. i'm not mad. i'm sorry if i pushed you into telling me. i-i don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"can i have a hug?" tom choked, tears welling in his eye sockets. edd rushed over to gather tom up in his arms, whispering comforting things as tom let all of his emotions out. edd could feel tom shaking, he could feel the tears dropping onto his shoulder, he could feel the smooth fabric of the back of tom's jacket. he could feel tom grabbing tightly at the back of his hoodie. a small part of him didn't want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry, this isn't the end! i'm gonna write a third part, so stay tuned!! best case scenario, i'll have it out in the next few days. thanks for reading!


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